Little Gardens

Psalms 127:3  "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."

I was just outside working on my garden and thinking. While pulling weeds thoughts came to my mind as how children's hearts are like a garden. We carefully plant things in there that we want to grow such as a love for the Lord, manners, sharing, kindness, listen and obey right away, and such the like, but then there are other things like weeds.

I put boundaries around my garden to help keep the weeds out. I even put down cardboard around the plants to stop weeds from growing. We need to protect our little ones by being careful what we let around them. We should have some control over the things that get near them, but some times weeds that we didn't plant sneak their way through. I have to get those weeds out before they make a deep root or they will multiply quickly taking over the garden. It is way easier to get them out if you get to them right away instead of waiting until they have deep roots. An example of this with our children is music. While in the store my babies would often start dancing to the music playing. I quickly will say "Yuck, that is yucky music." Not long they will be asking, "Is that yucky music Momma," I say yes or no. Then later they are telling me "That is yucky music. Mom don't listen to that." Covering their ears. They took it even further than I did. How about seeing a bad attitude and putting a stop to it right away. They then learn how to keep a check on their attitude as well. 

Psalms 92:12-15  "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;  To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."

You know there is one part about gardening I hate. You have to stay on top of it. Don't you wish you could just put the plants in the ground and say grow and give me some fruit and then come back to pick the fruit, but it doesn't work that way. If you let it go and grow on its own then the weeds take over the plants fast and the plants will get choked out and won't bare as much fruit. If you don't make sure it is watered then the plants won't grow properly and you won't get much fruit. It is the same with our children. We have to be consistent if we want good fruit from them. If we don't stay there with them and stop things growing in their hearts God doesn't want there and water the things he does then we will end up with children that will not have good fruit in their lives.

My husband and children sometimes help me weed the garden. There is one problem with this. They sometimes don't know the difference in a weed and in a plant. I have to tell them. I am a bit more experienced in knowing what a weed looks like and what a plant looks like. Because of this I am able to help them discern the difference in the weeds and plants. We as parents could use some help discerning the difference in the weeds and plants in our children's lives. First and for most we need the guiding of the Holy Spirit. If you have received Christ and Christ alone as your saviour then you will have the Holy Spirit inside of you to guide you. ( If you have not received Jesus Christ as your saviour then you will be in an uphill battle. Like being up a creek without a paddle. If you would like to know more about how to get a home in heaven click here .) He will guide you and speak to you in His Word the Bible. God's Word shines light in areas that we just don't know about. We also need a good church with a good pastor. It is amazing at how much you can learn from a pastor that has been taught by God. He deals with a lot of parents and a lot of situations. He has more experience in theses matters than we do. He can help us know the difference in the weeds and the plants.

Proverbs 1:30-32  "They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them."

The Lord wants to bless us with good fruit in our children. But it takes consistency and work to get that fruit.

Proverbs 31:31  "Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."